Resolutions

No night on the town for me this year, I will be headed into work in just a few short hours. I am about to try and squeeze in a quick nap before then.

It ended up just as well that we didn't have any plans because Clay has a nasty cold anyway.

2012 Resolutions
This list is gong to be short and sweet. Attempting for attainable here. For more far reaching goals see 101 in 1001 tab above.

1. Try and drink at least 2 liters of water every day
2. Try and get a mix of fruits and veggies to total at least 7 servings per day
3. Exercise at least 200 minutes per week

New Record

Just finished a killer chest/bicep workout, then I ran my first sub 10 min mile! 9:59 what what!

Do Life Movement New Year 2012 Challenge

Just signed up for the Do Life Movement New Year 2012 Challenge
It is a 12 week challenge, I am not 100% or even 50% sure what it will entail but today is the last day for sign up so check it out HERE if you are interested.

In honor of that, or just because I need to anyway I am headed to the gym in about an hour.

Just ran across this inspiring video about running, check it out.

To the Zoo

We had a Groupon for the Atlanta Zoo that expired the end of the month so we stopped by the zoo on the way home from the mountains. The last time I went to the zoo was 5-6 years ago and I went to the zoo in Washington D.C. Compared to that, this zoo was somewhat of a let down. There were many areas that needed a little TLC, some paint here a little landscaping there. I was disappointed and little sad for the animals that stay there because some of their habitats seemed to be lacking.

There were several animals that we didn't get to see due to the cold weather. We didn't miss the naked mold rats though, they were warm and toasty in their special house.

Top left corner, check out that meerkat. Those were too cute! But my favorite animal of the day was the otters. I was enjoying watching them so much I forgot to take a picture. I have never seen otters outside of the water and they were so goofy and uncoordinated flopping around land with their giant tails it was a sight to see.

Watch out Clay! There is a monkey behind you.

The gorillas were lazy but it was cool to see the mamas holding their little babies in their laps.

I LOVE petting zoos. I was disappointed in this one because the only animal they had was a herd of goats. At least there were a lot of goats to go around since there were like 100 children plus me trying to pet them. However, since it was a zoo, I expected at least a cow, horse, pig, or SOMETHING else to pet besides goats. It did not stop me from getting my goat pet on though.

We finished the evening of right with a delicious Groupon meal at Bahel Ethiopian restaurant with Eric. We even found a Scoutmob deal for him so we made out like bandits. The food was super tasty! Now back to reality. Work the next two nights and I have GOT to get back on the health wagon. Gym, fruits, veggis, and water here I come!

Headed Home

Last coffee and hanging out this morning in the mountains. Headed back home now, always bittersweet to end a vacation. Especially one as restful as this has been.

Christmas Run

Chico and I celebrated with a 3 miler. COLD n windy! Then I had a very Christmasy looking salad. Spaghetti and roasted garlic cooking away and smelling great!

Christmas Morning

Slept in, had some late late breakfast, killer is cuddled up with her new toy. Chico is hiding under the blanket keeping warm and I am enjoying my present, the latest and final Michael Crichton book.

Happy Anniversary!

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday. Had a beautiful day! Wonderful meal at Zeppelins. We lazed on the couch reading books and playing with the dogs. No set plans, no deadlines, just doing what we want and spending time together.

Snuggling with Killer and coffee

Enjoying day 1 of vacation. I love it!

Not so Healthy

Bacon wrapped figs

Accomplishments of 2011

I wanted to focus on some Non Scale Victories for the past year.

1.) I can bench press 20lbs more than in March

2.) I increased my sit and reach by 1.5 inches and I HATE stretching

3.) I lost 7 inches from my waist

4.) I lost 3 inches from my hips

5.) I lost 5% body fat

6.) I am no longer obese or overweight

7.) My heart rate after a 3 minute step test is 60 beats per minute less than in March

8.) I can do 7 men's style push ups which I haven't been able to do since elementary school, I couldn't do any in March

9.) I feel MUCH more confident!

10.) I enjoy shopping for clothes and can buy clothes in any store (ok I still have to search for talls)


11.) I look forward to trying new things with much less anxiety

12.) I have much less back, leg, and foot pain

13.) I have tried lots of new healthy food items (there will be a post on this soon)


14.) I have tried to be a positive role model for those close to me, hopefully I have or will inspire someone to better their life

15.) My relationship with others, especially my husband has improved with my increased confidence and more positive outlook on life


16.) I feel more rested (most of the time, I do work night shift and keep crazy hours and still crash on the porch sometimes)


17.) Oh, and did I mention that I am wearing the smallest size I have ever worn since being an adult. What? Yes you heard me right!

Be Thankful!

My view for last hour and a half, not moving at all. Came upon a bad accident on way to work. Everyone be careful on your travels, tell those you care about how much you love them, and never take anything for granted!

My face is on HTP!!!

Just wanted to say hello to everyone landing over in my neck of the woods thanks to Caitlin's January Joiners piece. I found her blog back in March of 2011. I had started going to the gym in January and had hit a plateau and needed some new ideas and somehow landed on her blog. I had never been a runner before but as I read her posts I thought I might give it a try. Little by little I started pushing myself but I learned the right ways to increase speed and distance without hurting myself. I completed my first half marathon in November. My goal was to finish in less than 3 hours, I was AMAZED when I crossed the finish line in 2 hours 33 minutes!!!

A little more about me: I started losing weight after a major 70lb gain during nursing school. After I got out of school and started working the weight just started coming off. I was on my feet 5 days a week for at least 12 hours. Then I hit a plateau and my poor eating habits caught up with me. I am a major stress eater, so I was eating all the time and all the wrong foods. Through blogs like Caitlin's and others that I have listed on my page that I read almost daily I learned that other REAL, and NORMAL people got their lives in shape, ran races, and ate healthy.
It is something that has to be done day by day, and sometimes you fall off the wagon, you just cannot make that the excuse to stay off the wagon forever, just hop back on.
I am down approximately 75 pounds in 4 years, 35 of which I lost this year, not to mention becoming much stronger and much more cardiovascularly fit. This is a change anyone can make and if you are thinking of being a January joiner, be proud that you want to change your life. Keep yourself honest and take it one day at a time, things will not change overnight.

I made the granola bars last night and I really like them. I don't think that the husband cared for them too much. My only complaint is that they were REALLY messy. If I make them again I will probably decrease the amount of cocoa powder and add a dash of orange extract instead, but I am not a big chocolate person.

• 2 large overripe bananas
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup crunchy cereal I used cheap honey nut cheerios
  
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup(or any other sweetener you use) I used 1 tbsp brown rice syrup and 1 tbsp splenda
  
• 2 tbsp peanut butter or other nut or seed butter I used sunflower butter
  
• 2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips I used carob chips
  
• 2 tbsp dried cranberries or other fruit I used raisins
  
• 2 – 4 tsp cocoa powder I used 2 tbsp and I still thought it was too chocolatey

No bake granola bar

Trying a new recipe tonight that I found on pinterest. Hope it is good. Sitting down after an intense leg workout and elliptical session to enjoy some Terra Nova with the husband. Back to the work grind tomorrow. I am even doing a day shift this week. That will require lots of coffee and will be very interesting.

Source: fooddoodles.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

In Christmas news:

Chico liked his antlers.

Killer was not sure about her antlers.

Then she decided that she did not like them.

Killer just wanted snacks.

In outdoor news: Alvin climbed the tree. Lazy day at the house!

Do Life Movement Page Launched

Anyone who has not check out the Do Life movement, head on over to their page and get yourself a healthy dose of encouragement. The Davis dudes are promoting an awesome focus on healthy and living life to its fullest. There are some great forums over there!

I am trying not to still pout since I didn't win the London trip with those guys to run a marathon, I still got an awesome shirt out of the deal.


I did the unofficial Do Life 5K in Atlanta in June 2011 and it was so neat to be a part of this grassroots effort. I can't wait to see what this movement will blossom into over time!
You can check out these posts here or here.

Ready to travel

Came home from my run to find Alvin ready to go in the suitcase.

New shoes, cold run!

Braving the 40 degree Ga weather to try out my new running shoes.

Update: Back from run, went 3 miles at it. Didn't take long to warm up and get sweaty. I like my new shoes, they are the Nike Reax. I was expecting them to feel more "squishy" with each step because of the thick heel but they feel very firm. This was not uncomfortable, I just wasn't sure of what to expect. My knees feel good, so I think they are keepers. Not to mention the fact that they only cost me $5 (to have them shipped since I have to get a size 12). We had Kohls cash after getting our vacuum and so they were free except for shipping. Woohoo!

New Toy

Clay got a new toy, and loves to torture the doggies with it now. Chico, watch out for incoming helicopter!

Clay bathing anyone

Someone searched "clay bath"on Google and landed on my blog. Hilarious!